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How Can Chlamydia Turn Into Hiv

Spreading Hiv And Stds

HIV Life Cycle | HHMI BioInteractive Video

But sexual contact isnt the only way to contract an STD or HIV. Pathogens like HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C can also be spread by sharing needles or other drug paraphernalia.

Birthing parents can also pass HIV and some STDs on to babies while pregnant, during delivery, or through breastfeeding. For example, chlamydia and gonorrhea are two types of pathogens that can be passed to a baby during delivery.

Am I At Risk For Chlamydia

If you are sexually active, have an honest and open talk with your healthcare provider. Ask them if you should get tested for chlamydia or other STDs. Gay or bisexual men and pregnant people should also get tested for chlamydia. If you are a sexually active woman, you should get tested for chlamydia every year if you are:

  • Younger than 25 years old.
  • 25 years and older with risk factors, such as new or multiple sex partners, or a sex partner who has a sexually transmitted infection.

Chlamydia Symptoms In Women

Chlamydia is often known as the silent infection. Thats because people with chlamydia may not experience symptoms at all.

If a woman contracts the STI, it may take several weeks before any symptoms appear.

Some of the most common symptoms of chlamydia in women include:

  • painful sexual intercourse

In some women, the infection can spread to the fallopian tubes, which may cause a condition called pelvic inflammatory disease . PID is a medical emergency.

The symptoms of PID are:

  • abnormal vaginal bleeding between periods

Chlamydia can also infect the rectum. Women may not experience symptoms if they have a chlamydia infection in the rectum. If symptoms of a rectal infection do occur, however, they may include rectal pain, discharge, and bleeding.

Additionally, women can develop a throat infection if they have oral sex with someone with the infection. Though its possible to contract it without knowing it, symptoms of a chlamydia infection in your throat include cough, fever, and sore throat.

The symptoms of STIs in men and women can be different, so its important to talk with a healthcare professional if you experience any of the above symptoms.

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How Can A Person Reduce The Risk Of Getting An Std

Sexual abstinence is the only way to eliminate any chance of getting an STD. But if you are sexually active, you can take the following steps to lower your risk for STDs, including HIV.

Choose less risky sexual behaviors.

  • Reduce the number of people you have sex with.
  • Do not drink alcohol or use drugs before and during sex.

Use condoms correctly every time you have sex.

When Can I Have Sex Again

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If you were diagnosed with chlamydia, wait to have sex again until you have finished your treatment.

For some antibiotics, such as doxycycline, this means may need to wait 1 week to have sex, or until you have completed your prescribed course of treatment.

If you were prescribed a single dose of medication, like azithromycin, wait 7 days after taking the medication before having sex.

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Does Chlamydia Have A Smell

In some cases, chlamydia can cause unusual vaginal discharge, which could have a strong or pungent smell.

However, this could also be a sign of several other STIs, including bacterial vaginosis or trichomoniasis. It could also be caused by many other factors, including sweat, changes in pH, or shifts in hormone levels.

Consider talking with a healthcare professional to address any concerns regarding abnormal discharge or odor, especially if its accompanied by other symptoms like pain, bleeding, itching, or burning.

How Its Passed On

You can get chlamydia through:

  • sharing sex toys that are not washed or covered with a condom each time they are used on a different person
  • your genitals coming into contact with your partners genitals

Its not yet known whether chlamydia is spread on fingers when you touch an infected part of the body, then touch other parts of your body or someone elses.

Using the external or internal condom cuts the risk. Other types of contraception, such as the contraceptive pill, offer no protection against STIs.

If you are living with HIV, having untreated chlamydia could make it more likely that youll pass on HIV during unprotected sex. But if HIV drugs have made your viral load undetectable then chlamydia or other infections dont appear to make you more likely to pass on HIV.

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Stis And Blood Hiv Burden

A related question is the effects of STIs on blood viral burden. As noted above, genital ulcers significantly increase the amount of viral RNA shed in both the male and female genital tracts . Buchaz et al. reported increased HIV in blood in people with primary and secondary syphilis . Dyer et al. found an increase in blood viral burden in men with genital ulcers and urethritis. Celum et al. found a modest reduction of HIV in blood from treatment of HSV-2 with acyclovir. Lingappa et al. reported that acyclovir could reduce progression of HIV disease in people dually infected with HIV and HSV-2. These results suggest a systemic effect of HSV-2 infection.

Antiretroviral therapy is highly effective at suppressing HIV-1 replication in the blood, including in people with STIs. In a meta-analysis of 14 studies looking at the effects of STI infection on HIV-1 blood viral load, Champredon and colleagues concluded that co-infection with an STI correlates with a 0.11 log10 increase in HIV-1 viral load suggesting that when an individual is suppressed on ART, STIs have little effect on blood viral load .

If Left Untreated Can Chlamydia Turn Into Hiv Or Aids

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How Do I Test For Chlamydia

You can get tested for chlamydia even if you dont have any symptoms.

In some countries you can get a self-testing kit to do at home.

If you test positive for chlamydia, its important to tell any recent sexual partner/s so they can also get tested, and treated if necessary. If you need advice about how to do this, speak to your healthcare professional. You should also test for other STIs.

What Are The Symptoms Of Stds

STDs may not always cause symptoms. Even if a person has no symptoms from an STD, it is still possible to pass the STD on to other people.

Talk to your health care provider about getting tested for STDs and ask your sex partner to do the same.

To find STD information and testing sites near you, call CDC-INFO at 1-800-232-4636 or visit CDCs GetTested webpage.

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Ner Notification And Management

Partner notification and management comprises those public health activities in which sexual partners of individuals with STI are notified, informed of their exposure and offered treatment and support services. Partner management aims to reduce the prevalence of asymptomatic infection, and to shorten the average period of infectiousness. This in turn is expected to reduce disease transmission. However, while bacterial STIs can be identified and cured, thus breaking the chain of transmission, viral STIs such as HSV-2 and HIV are incurable, and the rationale for partner management is less clear. In the context of syndromic management, it is even more difficult to decide which partners should be treated, and for what. The most practical approach has been to give the same treatment as for the index case, but this will obviously result in over-prescription of antibiotics, especially in the case of partners of women with vaginal discharge, most of whom do not have an STI. In such circumstances, partner notification could potentially lead to serious social and physical consequences for the female index case.

What Health Problems Can Result From Chlamydia

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The initial damage that chlamydia causes is often unnoticed. However, infections can lead to serious health problems with both short- and long-term effects.

If a woman does not receive treatment, chlamydia can spread into the uterus or fallopian tubes, causing PID. Symptomatic PID occurs in about 10-15% of women who do not receive treatment.30,31 However, chlamydia can also cause subclinical inflammation of the upper genital tract . Both acute and subclinical PID can cause long-term damage to the fallopian tubes, uterus, and surrounding tissues. The damage can lead to chronic pelvic pain, tubal factor infertility, and potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy.32,33

Some patients with PID develop perihepatitis, or Fitz-Hugh-Curtis Syndrome. This syndrome includes inflammation of the liver capsule and surrounding peritoneum, which can cause right upper quadrant pain.

In pregnant people, untreated chlamydia can lead to pre-term delivery,34 ophthalmia neonatorum , and pneumonia in the newborn.

Reactive arthritis can occur in men and women, following infection with or without symptoms. This is sometimes part of a triad of symptoms formerly referred to as Reiters Syndrome.35

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Will Treating Someone For Stds Prevent Them From Getting Hiv

No. Its not enough. Screening for STDs can help assess a persons risk for getting HIV. Treatment of STDs is important to prevent the complications of those infections, and to prevent transmission to partners, but it should not be expected to prevent spread of HIV.

If someone is HIV-positive and is diagnosed with an STD, they should receive counseling about risk reduction and how to protect their sex partner from getting re-infected with the same STD or getting HIV.

Benefits Of Std Screening And Treatment

In the presence of an STD diagnosis, people should receive treatment as soon as possiblenot only to treat the infection but to potentially decrease the risk of onward transmission should you have HIV.

According to the latest research, HIV-positive people on STD therapy tend to shed far less HIV and to shed the virus less frequently than those not on treatment. .

Additionally, safer sex counseling hand-in-hand with STD therapy can help a person uninfected with HIV to identify their personal risk factors and find ways to better reduce their risk of HIV.

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When Should I See My Healthcare Provider

When it comes to chlamydia, its a good idea to be proactive. Speak with your healthcare provider about your risks of infection. Make a plan to get screened regularly for STIs based on your providers recommendations for how often you should be tested. Make an appointment with your healthcare provider if your partner tests positive for chlamydia or if you notice any signs or symptoms that you may be infected.

Which Specialties Of Doctors Treat Stds In Men

ORAL SEX and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) Prevention and treatment | Dentalk! ©

STDs in men may be treated by primary care practitioners, including internists and family practitioners. Urologists are physicians with specialized training in conditions involving the male reproductive system, and they may be involved in the care of STDs in men. For certain STDs, other specialists, including gastroenterologists or immunologists may be consulted.

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An Std Actively Recruits Cells For Hiv To Infect

Whenever a pathogen enters the body, the immune system will immediately activate, resulting in a natural, inflammatory response. Inflammation occurs simply because the immune function is kicked into high gear, generating a plethora of immune cells to isolate and kill the pathogen.

In a localized infection, such as an STD, defensive cells such as CD4 and CD8 T-cells are recruited to the front lines. CD4 T-cells are “helper” cells that essentially direct the “killer” CD8 T-cells to neutralize the pathogen.

The irony is that the very cells meant to signal the attackthe CD4 cellsare the ones preferentially targeted by HIV for infection. Therefore, the more robust the pathogenic attack, the more target cells are recruited and the more likely that HIV will be able to penetrate the body’s primary immune defenses.

It is why even bacterial activity beneath the can increase the potential for HIV acquisition since the accumulation of bacterium can readily spark an immune response.

So even if an STD doesn’t visibly compromise tissues of the genitals, rectum or throat, the high concentration of immune cells at the site of infection provides HIV a greater opportunity to thrive, particularly if the infection is left untreated.

What Else Should I Do To Prevent Stis

Limit the number of sex partners you have. Ask your partner if he or she has, or has had, an STI. Tell your partner if you have had one. Talk about whether youve both been tested for STIs and whether you should be tested.

Look for signs of an STI in your sex partner. But remember that STIs dont always cause symptoms. Dont have sex if you or your partner are being treated for an STI.

Wash your genitals with soap and water and urinate soon after you have sex. This may help clean away some germs before they have a chance to infect you.

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The Role Of Std Detection And Treatment

Testing and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases can be an effective tool in preventing the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. An understanding of the relationship between STDs and HIV infection can help in the development of effective HIV prevention programs for persons with high-risk sexual behaviors .

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Complications From Chlamydia And Gonorrhea

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Because these two diseases often have no symptoms, some people go untreated.

Even with those who have symptoms, stigma, access, or other reasons get in the way of getting medical attention.

Not receiving prompt and proper treatment can create serious health problems.

For women, chlamydia and gonorrhea that goes untreated can spread through your uterus to your fallopian tubes.

Fallopian tubes connect the ovaries to the uterus and transport fertilized eggs during pregnancy. If untreated bacteria that cause gonorrhea and chlamydia spread to this area, the result is pelvic inflammatory disease , affecting around 5% of women in the US.

Pelvic inflammatory disease, similar to chlamydia and gonorrhea, can have no symptoms or just some pelvic or abdominal pain initially.

Unfortunately, PID can do permanent damage to a womens reproductive system, including:

For men, gonorrhea and chlamydia can also lead to serious health problems.

One difference is that chlamydia can also spread to the urethra, causing Non-Gonococcal urethritis, which is an infection of the tube that carries urine resulting in inflammation, pain, and fever.

This cannot be caused by the bacteria that causes gonorrhea. However, for both diseases, it is possible for either to cause:

For both women and men, chlamydia and gonorrhea can develop into a form of arthritis:

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How Stds Increase The Risk Of Becoming Infected With Hiv

Date:
Journal of Clinical Investigation
Summary:
Individuals who have a sexually transmitted disease and women with yeast and bacterial vaginal infections have an increased risk of becoming infected with HIV if exposed to the virus through sexual contact. New research has provided a new explanation as to how and why STDs have this effect.

Individuals who have a sexually transmitted disease and women with yeast and bacterial vaginal infections have an increased risk of becoming infected with HIV if exposed to the virus through sexual contact.

Although several explanations have been proposed, exactly how and why STDs have this effect has not been clear. Now, Teunis B.H. Geijtenbeek and colleagues, at VU University Medical Center, The Netherlands, have described a way in which STDs can increase acquisition of HIV-1 infection in an ex vivo human skin explant model that they hope might be amenable to therapeutic modulation to prevent HIV transmission.

In the ex vivo human skin explant model, although immature immune cells known as Langerhans cells captured HIV, they did not efficiently transmit the virus to T cells, something that is essential for the initiation of full disease.

Further, these data suggest that antiinflammatory therapies might provide a way to prevent HIV transmission.

Story Source:

Can I Test Myself For Chlamydia At Home

Home testing kits for chlamydia are widely available and can be purchased at many pharmacies or online.

These kits typically require a urine sample or tissue swab, which you can collect at home and securely ship back to the lab to receive your results.

Some companies also include a free medical consultation with a doctor if your test results are positive to review your treatment options.

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Sexually Transmitted Parasite Trichomonas Vaginalis Twice As Prevalent In Women Over 40 Survey Shows

A Johns Hopkins infectious disease expert is calling for all sexually active American women age 40 and older to get tested for the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis after new study evidence found that the sexually transmitted disease is more than twice as common in this age group than previously thought. Screening is especially important because in many cases there are no symptoms.

We usually think of STDs as more prevalent in young people, but our study results clearly show that with trichomonas, while too many young people have it, even more, older women are infected, says senior study investigator Charlotte Gaydos, M.S., Dr.P.H.

Results of a study to be presented July 12 at the annual meeting of the International Society for STD Research, in Quebec City, Canada, by Gaydos and her co-investigators show that among 7,593 U.S. women between the ages of 18 and 89, women 50 and older had the highest trichomonas infection rate, at 13 percent. Women in their 40s were next, at 11 percent. The study, which collected test samples from women in 28 states, is believed to be the largest and most in-depth analysis of the STD ever performed in the United States, complementing periodic national surveys of adolescents and individual city reports.

This survey information is vital to tailoring our efforts to get women, especially black women and women in jails, tested, diagnosed and treated, says Gaydos.

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